Business

Canadian cherries on show

Released at: 14:07, 06/07/2015

Canadian Cherry Festival held in Hanoi for the first time by the Canadian Embassy and the Fivimart supermarket chain.

The Embassy of Canada and the Fivimart supermarket chain in Hanoi have co-hosted the very first Canadian Cherry Festival in Vietnam, to present Canadian cherries from the province of British Columbia to Vietnamese consumers.

“The Embassy of Canada is proud to present Canadian cherries to Vietnamese consumers and to work with Fivimart in the event” said Senior Trade Commissioner of Canada Ms. Barbara Nadeau, who opened the Festival.

“I am delighted to see that more Vietnamese consumers have access to the finest and freshest Canadian cherries through Fivimart’s supermarket chains in Hanoi,” she added.

Most Canadian cherries are produced in British Columbia, the country’s westernmost province, where cherry farmers are accredited for food safety and traceability standards. Systems are in place to ensure the fruit are free of insects and disease in addition to being healthy and nutritious.

British Columbia’s cherry industry includes over 300 family cherry farms, representing more than 4,000 acres of prime cherry orchard land. Together as an industry, Canada has a long and mutually prosperous history of shipping British Columbia cherries to Asia and Europe, including world famous varieties such as Lapins, Sweetheart, and Skeena.

Agricultural and agri-food is an important part of Canada - Vietnam bilateral trade, representing approximately half of Canada’s total exports to Vietnam. Some Canadian specialties, like lobster, geoduck, oysters, ambrosia apples and cherries are gaining increasing popularity in the country.